Writing skills are a must have for students and often, very few have been able to master this very crucial skill. Writing skills don’t just apply to students, they go beyond the classroom. Therefore, students need to be aware that mastering this skill isn’t just for the purpose of getting better grades in schools but it will also prepare them for the job market.

It’s not uncommon to see a student stuck while writing an essay or doing assignments because they feel like they have no idea of what to write and how to write it. This is a big problem that could have easily been avoided if the students worked on their writing skills. Good writing doesn’t come cheap and scholars will be required to work on their skills. However, this doesn’t necessarily imply that it’s difficult to be a writer worth emulating. We will look at 7 steps that can help guide students toward becoming better writers.

1.Planning

Planning is key to being successful in anything we set out to do. Planning is what will guide you in identifying the resources that you may need, anticipate the challenges that you may experience, manage time, among other things. Writing is no different. Prior to writing, you’ll need to plan thoroughly. You need to know the timelines that you have. Rushed writing results in poor quality articles. Quite a number of students have a tendency of rushing through their writing since, in most cases, they are trying to beat the deadline. Secondly, the planning stage guides you in identifying the resources that you may need for your writing.

2.Research

Research is a must. Students need to realize that without a thorough understanding of the topic that they are writing on, the quality of their work will be compromised. Good writing isn’t just about the grammar or flow of the work but also the quality of the content. When you have an understanding of the title of an essay, writing it will be much easier than if you didn’t. Understanding builds the confidence of an author which reflects in all great writing.

3.Originality

Be original. Plagiarism is a NO-NO when it comes writing. It’s among the biggest offenses one can commit in writing. Being a student, plagiarism can cost you your grade and overall academic performance. Writing is about communicating your thoughts and opinions to your readers. Therefore, when you plagiarize, you’re instead communicating someone else’s thoughts. Be original in your writing, it’s a crucial step towards better writing.

4.Practice

They say “practice makes perfect!” and the same applies to writing. Without the much-needed practice, being able to write well will remain to be nothing but an illusion. Writing can be quite taxing. Adding writing practice to a student's already busy schedule can appear to be torture but that’s far from the truth! It’s the practice that will make writing easier and more fun. Practice begins as early as kindergarten. In elementary when students get academic writing help from a tutor or their parents, this also counts as practice.

Lecturers ought to be giving students short writing assignments irrespective of whether language is their course. This helps with building their writing skills and in turn, making them better students and of course writers.

5.Perfecting the Basic Writing Skills

Students need to arm themselves with the basic writing skills. They form the foundation of a great writer. As much as one may have the necessary content and it’s on point, without flow, it will not make any sense to your readers. Therefore, students need to learn basic skills such as grammar, sentence structure, flow, and punctuation among others.

6.Having Drafts

Drafting work then proceeding to do a final document is among one of the most crucial steps to becoming a better writer. Writing is an art that needs mastery but also tricks. The surest way to ascertain that your document will have achieved the level of perfection that you intended is by first taking the time to write a draft. Drafts make it easy to spot mistakes and make the necessary corrections.

7.Understanding the Value of Good Writing

So, why would you as a student aspire to be a good writer? Why do you need good writing? Unless a student thoroughly understands what good writing is and the value that it holds, then they will not make the necessary effort towards becoming better writers.

Conclusion

Writing is a big challenge for a lot of people, not just students. However, it’s at this stage that one has the opportunity to perfect their writing. Writing is an integral part of learning and a reason as to why students must learn the skill to be able to succeed in other subjects too. The same way we can comfortably communicate through speaking is the same way we should through writing, the only difference being with speaking you use your lips while with writing its pen and paper (or a wordprocessor!). No one is born a good writer and these steps are meant to guide you to be one.

Likes

Comments

Even those of us who don’t find essay writing terrifying can sometimes struggle with delivering a strong paper that pleases the professor. The reasons for that could be different but most time students feel confused about the process not because they think they writing is bad but because they don’t have a clear system.

When you don’t have a system, delivering an essay on a familiar topic still might be easy. However, if you are assigned to write another essay about the topic that is less familiar can become a challenge if you don’t know where to start. That’s why today I want to help you with that, offering 6 tips that could guide you through the whole writing process successfully.

1. Remember that time planning matters.

Sometimes we think that a certain topic is easy only to find out later that it actually requires more time and a deeper research. The best way to avoid such situations happening is to start as early as possible and to plan everything ahead.

If this isn’t a first essay you have to write, you probably already know how much time it takes for you to deliver a strong paper. If you aren’t sure, try to make at least a draft plan. For some of us, it is easier to write for a day straight; some of us find it easier to divide the whole writing process into a couple of days. Whatever you choose, make sure that you still have plenty time ahead in case something goes wrong.

2. Organize everything.

Create a list of the sources you are planning to study. Put all the necessary things like pens and dictionaries close to you so you could reach them anytime. Put all the distractions away. This might take some time but this will allow you to focus on the writing only without having to look for a pen or checking social media updates.

You would be surprised how quick and smooth your writing process could get when you organize your workplace and eliminate all potential distractions.

3. Take notes during the research.

If your essay requires even a bit of research, make sure to take notes in the process. This way you’ll have a short summary of every informational source along with quotes and references before you even start writing. This will save a lot of time in this process and will help you structure the information better, already coming up with a draft of a structure.

4. Create a structure.

We know that most papers consist of an introduction, the body, and the conclusion. This structure seems so simple that many students think they shouldn’t waste time on it. However, a structure is not only the rule that must be followed – it is also a useful tool that will help you with your writing a lot. Make a list of arguments you want to use and include them in the body. Create a rough outline of each part of your essay. This won’t take much of your time and this will help you write quicker and easier without forgetting anything important.

5. Look at the examples.

Checking out the examples of others’ writing is not always a good thing. Sometimes it’s hard for students to look through others’ essays without plagiarizing their ideas, intentionally or not.

However, sometimes these examples can become an inspiration and help you understand what your essays are missing. It’s okay to use them for learning as long as you’ll keep striving to deliver original content yourself.

6. Polish it.

Even if you were well prepared, the chances that your essay is flawed are still pretty big. Don’t worry – probably no essay is written without flaws from the first draft. If you did everything right and planned your time well, you’ll have plenty of time to polish your essay after it’s done. Be sure to check it for grammar and punctuation mistakes, for typos, for logical flaws, for arguments that aren’t supported by facts. Read it aloud or ask your friend to review it. All of this will help you make your essay not simply good but actually great.

When it comes to essay writing, your unique style and perception of the world do matter a lot. However, the organization of the whole process matters too. The organization is what helps you get your work done even if you struggle with the process. For example, if you don’t have any idea how you are going to write an essay, you can focus on more simple parts like a list of sources you might want to use.

Do you have your own tips that help you write better essays or handle the whole writing process easily? If you do, please share them with us in the comments below!